(SPEEDWAY 1)

SHEFFIELD hero Simon Stead won the Premier League Riders' Championship for a second time in Sunday’s showpiece at Owlerton.The Tigers skipper successfully regained the prestigious crown he won in 2014 after a tense Grand Final tussle with Edinburgh’s Sam Masters.It was an incredible achievement for Stead after he missed the majority of the 2015 campaign through injury - and he was in jubilant mood after coming out on top against a star-studded field.“I'm obviously delighted," said Stead. “It was an extremely tough meeting as I always knew it would be, so to win it is an amazing feeling.“I knew I'd need to be at my very best in that calibre of field, and it was just as tough as I was expecting.“I don't remember much about the Final to be honest, it's a bit of a blur! Sam made a jet-propelled start but there were plenty of options chasing from behind and I just waited until I thought I could make it stick.“I managed to get ahead, and in some ways it was easier from behind. You felt quite vulnerable at the front but I managed to hold on and get the win.”Redcar’s David Bellego completed the rostrum finishers in third place, with Glasgow’s Richard Lawson fourth.(SPEEDWAY 2)

MAX Clegg scored his second 15-point maximum in two days as Cradley collected four more crucial National League points on Sunday.The Heathens followed up their win at Stoke by triumphing 50-39 at Buxton, with Ashley Morris also unbeaten from five rides.The weekend results give Cradley a ten-point cushion over fifth-placed Belle Vue, and Clegg says they knew the importance of the two away matches.He said: “I know the boys were hurting from the big loss at Kent on Monday, but they all did well to learn from that and get the big win at home to Stoke on Tuesday.“We saw the away meetings at Stoke and Buxton this weekend as a big chance to get some more points on the board and to get all eight is a big boost for the team.“It's put us back in a strong position and we need to make sure we follow it up with another home win against Kent a week on Monday.”Eastbourne remain third in the table after a comfortable 57-33 win at home to Stoke, with Adam Ellis scoring another 15-point maximum as the Eagles dominated the race wins.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “Eastbourne showed why they are unbeaten around their home track this season despite our best efforts. “We were unlucky on a couple of occasions with Danny Ayres being excluded in his first ride but we have to admit that they were the better side on the afternoon and look forward to our next match and put this behind us.”Rye House continued their climb up the table with two wins from a Hoddesdon double-header, defeating King’s Lynn 54-36 and then Mildenhall 47-42.Ben Morley scored a 15-point maximum in the first meeting with Robert Branford missing out due to a fall in Heat 13. Nathan Greaves scored 13 for the Young Stars.Greaves said: “We went there looking to get some more points but unfortunately it just wasn't our day. We all gave it our best but it just wasn't good enough on the day.“We're still feeling positive though; we've still got plenty of meetings to come and we won't give up on those play-offs until it's mathematically out of our reach.”The second meeting was closer with Morley and Branford both scoring 11, with the Fen Tigers’ duo of Danny Halsey (13+1) and Jon Armstrong (12+1) keeping their side in contention.Morley said: “The last few matches, we’ve been picking up points here, there and everywhere. “It’s a shame we couldn’t do that at the start of the season, but it is always nice when you do get them and begin to move up the table.”(SPEEDWAY 3)

BELLE Vue can clinch top spot in the Elite League ahead of the play-offs as they host fellow qualifiers Poole on Monday.The Pirates can still pip the Aces if results go their way this week, as they also visit King’s Lynn on Tuesday.Belle Vue bring in Leicester’s Patrick Hougaard to guest for Max Fricke who has a fixture clash in Sweden, whilst Poole replace the injured Hans Andersen with Rohan Tungate.Aces star Craig Cook said: “Poole are one of those teams who’ve really pushed us hard the season, but that’s something you’d come to expect of the reigning league champions.“It’s a huge meeting for both clubs on Monday. The Play Offs are only a matter of weeks away and if we hope to repeat our Bank Holiday result we’ve got to keep our heads down and do our jobs.”Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “I thought we did reasonably well when we last went there, but of course conditions are certain to be different this time around. “It was an early-afternoon fixture in beautiful sunshine when we last went there and we were able to contain them over the last half of the meeting. “It isn't going to be easy but if we can apply ourselves from the outset and produce one of our trademark championship chasing performances then who knows what could happen.”Meanwhile Wolverhampton wrap up their regular Elite League programme when they host Midland rivals Coventry at Monmore Green.Wolves have already secured their place in the play-offs but are looking to keep their momentum going with what would be a sixth straight victory.The home side will be without Fredrik Lindgren and Jacob Thorssell due to Swedish commitments, with Richard Lawson standing in as a guest. The Bees are missing No.1 Krzysztof Kasprzak due to an official state celebration of Poland’s World Cup win, whilst Ben Barker steps in for the injured Jason Garrity. Both sides also operate rider replacement.Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten said: “Our fixtures against Coventry are always highly entertaining and I'm sure Monday's won't be any different.“They may not have had the best of seasons but for some reason they always seem to step their game up when they come to Monmore Green.“By the end of this week we should know our play-off semi-final opponents and we'd like to enter those fixtures with a winning sequence under our belt.”Bees boss Gary Havelock said: “spoke to Jason after he’d had to withdraw at Ipswich last Thursday – he simply can’t hold onto the bike, so unfortunately he’s had to say that’s it, he’s done for the season.“It’s frustrating that we’ve got to go to Wolves without him, and they will probably be somewhat relieved because everyone knows how well he goes there, but the other boys will give it their best and we’ll see what we can do.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

PETERBOROUGH are out to exorcise their East of England Showground demons tonight.The Panthers entertain Rye House in their final home meeting of the regular Premier League season, and it’s a must-win clash for the home side if they are to stand any chance to clawing their way back into the play-off places.Panthers have lost seven home meetings this season with five of those defeats coming in the league - results which have been a major factor in their nosedive out of the top six.Promoter Ged Rathbone admitted: “It is getting to the point where I really don’t know what to say about our 2016 season. We’ve done all we can to strengthen the team, we’ve carried out a lot of work on the track, but we just can’t seem to be able to pick up results at home.“We need to forget about the bigger picture tonight and put all our focus on simply winning a speedway meeting.“If we can do that, we will climb back into the top six and shift a bit of pressure back onto the other teams fighting to make it.”The Panthers bring in Lasse Bjerre to guest for Craig Cook, who is on Elite League duty with Belle Vue, whilst former Peterborough man Michael Palm Toft steps in for the injured Edward Kennett for the Rockets.Rye House boss Peter Schroeck said: “We were not far adrift of making the Fours Final there in July, and we have had a good record at the Showground these last few years, so the potential is there; we just need to go that extra bit further than we have managed so far on the road. “I’ve told the boys that they need to step up to the plate, because we are now at the end of the season. They always want to be busy, and this is a period where they’ve been given a full calendar with lots of matches. They need to take advantage of that.”Elsewhere, Newcastle will look to further consolidate their third place as they host Workington at Brough Park, with the Comets five points outside the play-off positions.Meanwhile Birmingham take an eight-point lead to Kent on Monday as they aim to book their place in the Knockout Cup Final.The Brummies won a tight first leg 49-41 at Perry Barr last week and welcome back Jack Parkinson-Blackburn at reserve after his recent absence due to illness. Ellis Perks continues as a guest at No.1 for Zach Wajtknecht.Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “We've got an excellent record at Kent and hopefully we can keep that going on Monday and get ourselves into another cup final.“However, there's no doubt whatsoever that we're in for another tough match and we're certainly not going there over-confident.“They've shown they can beat teams comfortably around their own circuit this season, and we're going to have to come up with another solid team performance.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

NATHAN Ablitt clinched the British 150cc title at Rye House and completed a stunning 45-race unbeaten record this season.12-year-old Ablitt had won all of his races in the events which supported British Youth Championship rounds and also came out on top in the one-off Final at Hoddesdon, with Sam Hagon and Mason O’Rourke completing the top three.British Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “As I’ve said before, it is incredibly hard for anybody to achieve that in ANY class. To go nine meetings and 45 races undefeated, with no engine failures or slide-offs, is absolutely amazing. “All credit to Nathan to finally be crowned British Champion. He certainly deserves that title. “It’s been a fantastic year. I say every season that the Series gets bigger and better each time around, and 2016 has been no different. Now we start making plans for next year!”(FIXTURES)

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 12:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Rye House 7.30, Newcastle v Workington 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Kent v Birmingham 6.30

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 13:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Sheffield 7.30CHALLENGE: Isle of Wight v British Young Lions U23 7pm

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 14:BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Birmingham 7.30ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.30